CHAPTER 9

**JESSICA'S POV**

I was expecting Nathan to ask about Parrish, but the silence in the car was deafening. He sat next to me, fuming, while I was too drunk to care. My mind kept drifting back to Parrish. Even now, I couldn’t shake the image of him out of my head. The quiet hum of the engine and the blur of passing headlights became background noise to the storm brewing inside me.

Without warning, Nathan slammed the brakes, jolting me forward. We had arrived home, but he didn’t turn off the engine. He just sat there, gripping the wheel, his jaw clenched.

“What the hell is your problem, Jess?” His voice was sharp, cutting through the silence.

“What the hell?!” I shot back, confused and still half-dazed from the alcohol.

“I told you I had work to do tonight. Why do you always—"

“Oh, I’m sorry," I interrupted him, my voice dripping with sarcasm, "that you couldn’t spare five minutes to pick up your drunk girlfriend from the club."

“I wouldn’t have had to if you didn’t get drunk in the first